Do people imitate when making decisions? Evidence from a spatial Prisoner's Dilemma experiment.

ABSTRACT: How do people decide which action to take? This question is best answered using Game Theory, which has proposed a series of decision-making mechanisms that people potentially use. In network simulations, wherein games are repeated and pay-off differences can be observed, those mechanisms often rely on imitation of successful behaviour. Surprisingly, little to no evidence has been provided about whether people actually imitate more successful opponents when altering their actions in that context. By comparing two experimental treatments wherein participants play the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game in a lattice, we aim to answer whether more successful actions are imitated. While in the first treatment, participants have the possibility to use pay-off differences in making their decision, t

SUBMITTER: Grujic J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7428279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature